Pregnancy Book - Page Text Content

BC: "Sometimes", said Pooh, "the smallest things take up the most room in your heart."

FC: A woman giving birth to a child has pain | because her time has come; but when her baby is born | she forgets the anguish because of her joy | that a child is born into the world. -John 16:21

2: How We Found Out | How We Found Out When I found out I was pregnant one afternoon, I saw it as a golden opportunity to tell Chris the happiest news he might ever get from me! Going to the toy store not far from our house for some inspiration, I found an ugly but slightly cute pea in the pod stuffed toy. The pod made a perfect place for me to slip in the pregnancy test next to the baby pea. I had it gift wrapped and called up Chris to tell him we were going out that night to celebrate me getting new glasses. This wasn't too big of stretch since I really did get my first pair of glasses that day and we always come up with reasons to celebrate something so we can go out to eat.

3: I picked him up from work- he suspected nothing. We went for a walk around downtown Austin- he suspected I wanted to eat out somewhere fancy (which was true). I took him to the Capital where I told him I wanted to give him a present as we sat at a bench in front of the Capital doors- he suspected just another lame shirt. As he opened the present to see the ugly but slightly cute pea in the pod, he laughed a little in confusion. Then as he looked at the test, it all started to click. By the photos you can tell he was excited!

4: First minute of knowing he's a father!

6: Early bump sightings

7: practice with the dog?

8: Progress | Having fun while the baby grows inside. When morning sickness or exhaustion took a break, we did not!. We often tried to seize the day and have fun on the weekends.... rock climbing, hiking, hanging out around town with friends...

9: Mayfield Park Austin, TX

10: pedernales falls | Chris' Birthday Weekend

12: Baby Shower in Austin given by Melissa & Cynthia

14: Shower At Cypress Valley Bible Church

15: Shower of books at work (First Evangelical Free Church) | My sweet co-workers showered me with children's books on my last week of work

19: We made a quick fun trip to Mountain Home, AR to see Elizabeth's cousin get married, and visit with family.

21: First Ultrasound

22: Progress | Our First Decisions as Parents | Upon finding out we were pregnant we did as most women do in 2010 and go to the doctor for an appointment and plan on having the baby delivered in a hospital. I originally felt that I should have a baby using as many pain medications available and be medically induced- maybe even a planned c-section. But I researched it, and became passionate about having the baby naturally with a midwife with as little intervention as possible. I visited Austin Area Birthing Center and quickly saw a huge positive difference in the care I received. We attended a "centering class" at the birthing center with other couples expecting babies in July . The class helped us prepare for the birth and baby.

23: Another decision we made before the baby was born was to use cloth diapers rather than disposable. Fortunately, there is a cloth diaper service in Austin that drops off a week's worth of clean diapers and picks up dirty diapers at your door. We hope this works out as great as it sounds! The only other decision we made early on was to try to be simple. We don't want our house to be overloaded with unnecessary baby gear, and we hope to make due with what we have as much as possible. For example, rather than a crib and a changing table, we have just a "pack n' play" that has a changing table and crib in one that is easy to pack away when we need to. | Yes, I practiced diapering on a sock monkey.

24: One week before the big day

25: When the due date had come and gone, we stayed positive and had fun with friends.. Most of these pictures are from playing on the State of Texas Capital grounds.

26: Last baby bump picture! Taken right before heading to the birthing center. Can you see the foot or knee or hand pressing against the belly? | While in early labor we stopped at Taco Cabana for some calories before the crazy labor started!